My 2 year old toddler keeps holding his wrist and complaining of pain?
What are the warning signs of head injury in toddler?
Toddlers are highly prone to head injuries they generally bump their heads on the floor or against the wall while crawling and learning to walk. The scalp and faces of toddlers are highly vascularized, and every minor injury leads to profuse bleeding and appearance of bumps. The prime signs of head injury in toddlers are bleeding, pain, and appearance of bumps. Some of the remedies to prevent the condition from aggravating are as follows:
- As soon as the toddler bleeds, apply a bit of pressure by dabbing a cotton cloth on the wound to lessen and ultimately stop the blood flow.
- Application of ice on the wound also helps prevent appearance of bumps on the head. Alternatively, you may use frozen vegetables (pack of peas) on the wound to stop bleeding and prevent bumps.
- You can also try hot compresses to treat bumps on the face and scalp.
You don’t always have to worry about toddler head injuries as they heal in a few days’ time. However, some of the toddler head injury warning signs are a change in mental state of your toddler, vomiting, loss of consciousness, immense discomfort, headache, and eye discomfort. In such a case, you must consult a pediatrician immediately as it could be serious.
Submitted by N H on December 20, 2011 at 05:20
It is not uncommon for a toddler to get either a sprain or a strain. A sprain normally occurs when the elastic tissue which helps connect the bones across one’s joint, also known as a ligament, stretches a lot or even tears. The most common areas that are vulnerable to such sprains are the knees, ankles, wrists or elbows. In the case of a sprain being a bad one, one may even hear a popping sound or a snapping sound when the ligament actually tears. Since the ligaments in a toddler are normally much stronger that the bones and cartilage that surround it, it is more probable that they will suffer some kind of injury to the bone rather than to the toddler’s ligament.
A strain is said to occur when then tendons which connect the muscles to the bones get stretched or torn excessively. A strain is also referred to as a pull. Muscle strains are known to happen very suddenly or it can happen over time. These occur most commonly among the children who are extremely active. A strain normally affects the back, thigh, neck or the calf muscles. Toddlers do not normally engage in activities that involve heavy weight lifting or heavy exercising that tend to give rise to these strains. But they can get affected if they suddenly twist their wrists while pulling a toy or fall when climbing or walking. Both strains and sprains will hurt as will a fracture. A fracture occurs when there is a break in the bone or the tibia. A sprain will result in an immediate, sharp pain, whereas a strain may not start to hurt for a while. A fracture will start to hurt immediately. Strains and sprains can cause some bruising when the blood vessels get ruptured. Normally sprains can cause a swelling to appear around the area. The toddler may not be able to use a wrist that has sprained, strained or fractured.
If the toddler is showing signs of intense pain then the parent should secure the injured limb and take the child immediately to a doctor or take them to emergency. It may be a case of a severe sprain or even a fractured bone. For a milder injury let the doctors check up and confirm the nature of the injury. At times an x-ray may be suggested to determine the exact nature of the injury. If it is a fracture then the doctor will put a cast on the fractured bone.
Submitted by P T on March 12, 2010 at 02:13
